Monday, September 29, 2014

Sipping a beer when you're riding the rails. Sound like a
fun combination?

That's what the New Hope Valley Railroad plans to do Oct. 4.
From 4 to 9 p.m. that Saturday, the excursion train based in Bonsal -- a half-hour south of Raleigh, between Raleigh and Sanford -- is
staging a fundraiser called Brew 'n'
Chew.

It works like this: You buy your ticket to ride their steam
train ($14) or diesel train ($12). At the rail yard, there are samplings and,
for an additional $5 per pint, craft beer from Cary-based Fortnight Brewing.
Beer will not be sold aboard the train, but you're welcome to bring your purchased
pint aboard.

Food -- which includes a side and a non-alcoholic beverage
-- can be ordered in advance to reduce your wait time at the food trucks there.Cost: $9.50 to $11.50.

There will be live bluegrass and folk music.

The event is a benefit for NHVR, an all-volunteer enterprise
staffed by train fans. Money raised at the event will support restoration of
the historic Cliffside 110 steam engine,
which is expected to cost between $350,000 and $600,000.

From Charlotte, Bonsal is a 2
1/2 drive: I-85 North to U.S. 421 (in the High Point
area); take U.S. 421 South to U.S. 64, at SilerCity.
Follow U.S. 64 East; cross JordanLake and make a right
onto Beavr Creek Road,
then a left onto Daisey Street to Bonsal
Street.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Brookgreen Gardens will stage its
annual Harvest Home Weekend Festival Oct. 4-5, with family-friendly activities
from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days.

There will be live music, special
boat excursions on the creeks ($8, $4 for kids), wagon hayrides, a craft tent
for kids, scarecrow building (you bring its clothes) and performances from
costumed characters from Brookgreen’s Enchanted Storybook Forest.

Zoos and aquariums traditionally don't stray far when it
comes to seasonal promotions -- spooky decorations around trick-or-treat time,
holiday lights for the run-up to the holidays.

So give credit to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga,
Tenn., for upping the ante: Their
ODDtober events play up the fall month by hinting at Halloween... by showcasing
their weird animals.

It's enough to make you point your
Buick to the aquarium complex on the downtown banks of the Tennessee
River.

Here's some of what they'll be displaying Oct. 1-31:

Lungfish. When the dry season comes to the Amazon
River, these air-breathing water creatures burrow into mud banks,
secret a mucous that keeps their skin from drying, and wait underground for
months until the next rainy season arrives.

A ghost-white baby American alligator -- shown above. He's
an extremely rare albino. They often survive only a few days in the wild
because their lack of protective coloration makes them easy target for
predators.

African tiger fish. They're a recent addition to the
aquarium's Lake Tanganyika exhibit. These
nasty creatures have razor-sharp teeth, and in the wild will jump out of the
water to snag low-flying birds.

ODDtober events are scheduled throughout the day, from 10
a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and include everything from keeper talks about penguins to presentations
about seahorses. There are about two dozen ODDtober things to see and do each
day -- and they're included in regular Tennessee Aquarium admission.

Oh, yeah. There are also costumed scuba divers making daily
appearances. They will of course be carving pumpkins underwater each Saturday
in October.

And there's always the bigfin reef squid, which has blue
eyes and can change the color of its skin.

Local businesses, clubs and individuals are encouraged to
enter the community division, while professionals have a shot to qualify for
the 2014 ICS World Championships by entering into the International Chili
Society division.

Other offerings include food vendors and a beer
garden, live music and a car show.

This festival offers free admission and parking for a day that includes a chili cook-off and tasting,
food and craft vendors, live music, craft demonstrations, a lumberjack
competition and a kid zone. All chili is cooked from
scratch on-site.

And the fun doesn't end there. It just
changes a little ‑- into cider .

CiderFest NC returns for its second
year Nov. 2, at Asheville's
Western North Carolina Farmers Market. Cider makers, mostly from the Carolinas and Virginia -- more than 13
in all -- will be featured. Also at the 1 to 5 p.m. event: cider and cheese
tastings, apple press demos, cheese making demos, live bluegrass-flavored music
(the Jon Stickley Trio) and activities
for the kids.

Hard cider and non-alcoholic organic
cider pressed by organic apple growers in the area, will be served. There will
be apple cider pretzels, too.

Items will also be available for purchase.

There is an admission fee for adults,
though -- $30 -- and attendance is limited to 700 tickets. Proceeds will benefit
the Green Building Council, which promotes "green" building practices in the Asheville area.

Monday, September 15, 2014

An article this summer about best camping spots in the United States touted
these three:

Acadia National Park, Maine (shown above): It "offers
a mix of expansive wilderness with
the safety of an organized campground, according to (the website) Greatist. The park is situated among trees,
rivers and lakes for ample hiking opportunities, but camping is only allowed in
designated areas. That means you'll be safe from the bears and coyotes that
roam the area and still be ready to take on the woods in the morning."

Arches National Park, Utah. It's "a
good choice for campers who want to avoid the chance of a frightening wildlife
encounter and don't mind basking in the heat instead. There are fewer spots for
wilderness hiking at Arches than in more forested campgrounds, but the park
does feature a number of trails and canyons to explore."

Rampart Mountain, Montana,was "described by CNN as the
most remote location in the U.S. Located in the Bob Marshall Wilderness
Complex, the spot is both far removed from major cities and less traveled than
many other popular parks."

All are fine destinations. But what about logistics?

Clearly, clothes alone for your trek will fill a suitcase
or two. And maybe you can ship ahead the
gear you need. Or buy it at the airport where you land.

A nearby airport? Not for these places.

AcadiaNational Park is a three-hour drive from Maine's
Portland International Jetport Airport (PWM).

ArchesNational Park is
close to a four-hour drive from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).

RampartMountain is indeed remote: about 7 1/2 hours by road
from Montana's Billings Logan International
Airport (BIL). It's in the vicinity of Kalispell,
Mont.

The difficulty distant travelers may have in reaching these three areas
would seem to help sustain their elbow-room appeal.

John Bordsen

About this blog

John Bordsen is the long-time travel editor of The Charlotte Observer. Before moving to Charlotte in 1989, he lived in Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Indiana. His articles and his "Foreign Correspondence" column -- interviews with people who live in countries you may want to visit, or are curious about -- are distributed nationally via the Tribune News Service.